Buyers Agent

Legal Obligations Of A Buyer's Agent

Remember a buyer’s agent works for you and their fiduciary responsibility is to you and no one else in the transaction.  They need to do what is best for you.  A buyer’s agents basic duties by law are:
  • Obedience- A buyer’s agent must carry out all of your lawful instructions
  • Loyalty- A buyer’s agent owes you undivided loyalty.
  • Disclosure- All information that can impact a clients position must be disclosed by a buyer’s agent.
  • Confidentiality- Your information is held in confidence by your buyer’s agent.  No information about you that can impact the sale can be passed on to additional parties.
  • Accounting- Your agent must account for all funds and not comingle your funds with personal or business accounts.
  • Reasonable Care- A buyer’s agent must use all their skills and abilities for the benefit of you.

WHAT WE DO FOR YOU!?

19 Tasks A Buyer’s Agent Can Perform For You
Below are just 19 tasks your buyer’s agent can perform for you that go above and beyond opening doors and their basic legal obligations.  While I have listed 19 tasks there are certainly many other things a buyer’s agent can help you with.
  1. Help assess your situation. A buyer’s agent will help determine if it is the right time to buy? Or is buying a home the wrong decision for you at this time? 
  2. Line up financing and make sure you understand the costs involved.  A buyer’s agent will have a good understanding of financing and can help you line up a lender from there arsenal of preferred vendors that is perfect for your situation. 
  3. Determine where you can achieve success for what you want and need in a home.  A buyer’s agent is familiar with different communities and what each community offers as well as price points for those communities. 
  4. Manage and explain the home buying process.  There are many pieces to the home buying process.  While it is your buyer’s agent job to manage the process, they will explain each step so you fully understand what is going on and can make the proper decisions.
  5. Provide valuable insight.  An experienced, full time buyer’s agent work 50-60 hours a week, immersed in the business of real estate and have hundreds of closings behind them. They understand how buyers think, they understand how sellers think. They know communities and what houses are worth. A buyer’s agent can use that experience to your benefit.
  6. Help identify homes.  Your buyer’s agent has tools that will help you identify homes for sale.  But, they will also use their skills, experience and abilities to help you look more holistically at what is available.  Often my buyers will buy homes that are not on their radar screen that I suggest.
  7. Organize and schedule viewings.  Managing and scheduling showings takes time.  It is certainly a times saving tasks to turn over to your buyer’s agent.
  8. Help assess home you are viewing.  Part of being a buyer’s agent is to help assess the pro’s and con’s of each home based on your specific needs. 
  9. Objectivity.  Often home buyers can lose their sense of objectivity when emotions run high.  Sometimes your buyer’s agent will need to keep you on track with your initial goals.
  10. Help you reassess your goals.  It is not unusual for a home buyer to start the process with unrealistic expectations.  Your goals may need to be adjusted more than once during the process.
  11. Structure an offer.  A buyer’s agent will provide guidance on how to best structure an offer for a specific property and your situation.
  12. Negotiate an offer on your behalf.  As an agent we spend much of our day negotiating….. offers, home inspection repairs, commissions, etc… It is what we do.  There are many considerations when negotiating an offer and your buyer’s agent will help negotiate on your behalf.
  13. Help do your due diligence on the home you put under agreement.  There is much to look into, permits, sex offenders in the neighborhood, what abuts the property etc…  Your buyer’s agent will know what to look for and help you get the info you need.
  14. Arrange professionals.  Lenders, attorneys, home inspectors all need to be utilized.  A buyer’s agent will have a network of preferred vendors that they can recommend and help arrange. 
  15. Attend the home inspection and help negotiate repairs if necessary.  Your last line of defense is your home inspection.  Your agent will help negotiate any repairs or concessions that reasonably need to be considered during your purchase.
  16. Manage the paperwork.  There is a slew of paperwork that needs to be managed, reviewed and signed.  Your agent will manage the paperwork as well as explain what you are signing, as well as track critical dates that have dire consequences if not met.
  17. Track the closing process.  From the time you have an offer accepted to closing and moving into your new home there are many steps to be taken.  Loans processing needs to stay on track, movers need to be hired, repairs may need to be done, utilities need to be turned on, attorneys need to be coordinated, etc….  Again, an experienced buyer’s agent can walk you though the process in their sleep.  They do it every day.
  18. Get you to the closing to buy your new home.  Last minute issues arise and your buyer’s agent will work to resolve those issues so you close on time.
  19. Make sure you are settled in your new home.  Your buyer’s agent will follow up and make sure there are no issues that need to be taken care of after the fact.